News for Late Summer 2010

Hello and greetings to all our friends and customers!
We hope to find everyone well and relaxed after such a fine (albeit a little warm and dry) summer! We've enjoyed a fine season of easier than usual haymaking and all of our crops are in great shape!

We hope you consider buying your eggs from local sources that manage their operations in a clean and responsible way. With over half a BILLION eggs being recalled, we do need to pause and think how and why this happens a lot lately. Peanut butter, ground beef, spinach, spring mix, now eggs...whatever it is, it seems that cheap food is not always better. Read our farm blog on food safety here to learn our take. What's your opinion?

We have a good supply of ground beef for your grilling menus and we also have whole brisket for your smoker. These items are both on special in September, $6/lb. For true recession busting prices, score either a chuck steak or chuck roast for $5/lb! Don't forget our cube steaks, or minute steaks, too! They make for a fast and tasty steak sandwich! Try out this recipe!

We have some important news on chicken to deliver. We had so many smaller lots going this year due to shortages and problems with our (now -ex) hatchery that we are not able to meet all our summer orders. We can gladly back-order your chicken order to October if that is acceptable. Another big fly in the proverbial ointment is that we are now saddled with higher processing fees. We absorbed these fees earlier this year, but we have to admit that we cannot do this for our fall batch. We did quote a price and we'd be happy to refund your deposit if either the delay or the cost cause you to reconsider your chicken order with us. We have processed chicken under the exempt USDA processing rules in the past and these regulations were augmented earlier this year. Prices went up because of investments that had to be made in order to remain permitted. Also, there is now a full service USDA poultry processor in New England (thank you Vermont and your progressive and supportive legislature!) and we will take our poultry processing to where we can get a 50- State, interstate trade legal USDA stamp on our poultry (that our beef already enjoys). The choice was clear for us as the costs of USDA v. exempt custom processing are now essentially the same. Westminster Meats of Westminster Station VT is our new poultry processor, read about them here.

Our new price for poultry needs to rise to $4.30/lb to help us recoup interstate trucking fees and increased processing costs. *Please get back to us to reconfirm your order with us or to request a refund of your deposit.* We apologize for this necessary price increase! We wish we didn't have to do this in a recession! We dragged our heels
announcing this and REALLY agonized over this....

We will need your answer back to us this week please, so we know how many chicks to put in our brooders.

The farmer is getting back up to speed from a bumpy summer of dealing with some health issues; when you need a good doctor in our health care system and cannot find one- become one yourself!!! In all seriousness, a squeeky and determined wheel does eventually get grease! We're further maddened every time we pay those sky-high insurance premiums and really wince when we cut the check!!

Don't forget to add Burnshirt Valley Farm Pork to your repertoire if you don't already do so! We can take your orders and questions and forward them on to Burnshirt Valley Farm for you.

Thank you for your business and support!

Dave Petrovick, Caledonia Farm
Floyd Kelley, Burnshirt Valley Farm